"35 Pages" Attack Against Trump Fails - Foreign And Domestic Losses

UPDATED (at end of original)

The tale about the fake accusations about Russian influence on the U.S. presidential election becomes more gripping by each day. The are part of a larger war between various groups of the "elites" but also include infighting between U.S. government organizations.

The "former" desk officer for Russia in the British MI6 Christopher Steele was the one who prepared the 35 pages of obviously false claims about Russian connections with and kompromat against Trump. There are so many inconsistencies in these pages that anyone knowledgeable about the workings in Moscow could immediately identify it as fake. Putin personally started working on Trump five years ago when Trump had no political role or hope whatsoever? A Trump associate met Russian officials in Prague even though he has never been in the Czech Republic?

Steele spread the fakes throughout the press corps in Washington DC but no media published them because these were obviously false accusations.

Steele then decided to hand the papers to the FBI and to talk to its agents hoping they would start an official investigation. He cleared his move (or was ordered to proceed?) at the highest level of the British government:

The Daily Telegraph was told during a meeting with a highly-placed source in Washington DC last October that the FBI had contacted Mr Steele asking if they could discuss his findings with him. The source said that Mr Steele spoke to officials in London to ask for permission to speak to the FBI, which was duly granted, and that Downing Street was informed....Once he had been given the all-clear, he met an FBI agent in another European country, where he discussed the background to the file he had compiled. His contact with the FBI reportedly began in July last year and ended in October, after he became frustrated by the bureau’s slow progress.

When Steele's first move with the FBI in October did note deliver the hoped for results an attempt to stove pipe them through Senator John McCain was launched. A "former" British ambassador to Moscow arranged the hand over:

A former British ambassador to Russia has revealed he played a significant role in bringing the Donald Trump 'dirty dossier' to the attention of the American intelligence services.

Sir Andrew Wood said he spoke to Republican senator John McCain at an international security conference in November about the existence of material that could compromise the president-elect.

Mr McCain subsequently handed the document, which contained allegations of lurid sexual behaviour by Mr Trump in Russian hotels, to the head of the FBI.

The MI6 is well known for launching fakes on behalf of the British government.

Even the second, more official handover to the FBI still did not result in the hoped for publication of the allegations. But by that time Clinton was widely expect to win the election anyway so no further steps were taken.

After Trump unexpectedly won the election a new effort was launched to publish the smears. The Director of National Intelligence decided (or was ordered to) "brief" the President, the President elect and Congress on the obviously dubious accusations.

It was this decision that made sure that the papers would eventually be published. As the NYT noted:

What exactly prompted American intelligence officials to pass on a summary of the unvetted claims to Mr. Obama, Mr. Trump and Congress? Officials have said they felt the president-elect should be aware of the memos, which had circulated widely in Washington. But putting the summary in a report that went to multiple people in Congress and the executive branch made it very likely that it would be leaked. [emphasis in the original!]

Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.... The classified briefings last week were presented by four of the senior-most US intelligence chiefs -- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers....CNN has reviewed a 35-page compilation of the memos, from which the two-page synopsis was drawn. The memos have since been published by Buzzfeed. The memos originated as opposition research, first commissioned by anti-Trump Republicans, and later by Democrats. At this point, CNN is not reporting on details of the memos, as it has not independently corroborated the specific allegations.

The last half-sentence is part of the smear campaign. When DNI Clapper recently tried to exculpate himself from the shit-storm he created he used the same obfuscation:

The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable ..

That is like saying: "The IC has not made any judgement that information of Barack Obama's Kenyan citizenship is reliable .."

Any media or intelligence agency that claims it could or did not judge the content of 35 papers is obfuscating in an attempt to give them additional weight. The easily verifiable content is so obviously false that the few not immediately verifiable claims in it can not be taken serious. The media and Clapper know this and, if they were truthful, would say so.

The attack on Trump (and Russia) failed. Trump brushed it of with a few tweets and sentences in his press conference. The attack did not hold up any of the procedures in Congress or elsewhere necessary to install the new administration. It did not change policies. The British government and the MI6 have cake on their face. The DNI office and the CIA will bleed.

Trump has deliberately rattled the members of the deep state with his brazen criticism of U.S. intelligence findings about Russian hacking. Deep government does not stand idly by, as David Runciman wrote recently in the London Review of Books, and allow itself to be shat upon by newcomers. The president-elect has enemies in profusion on the inside who are practiced at the art of the leak. They may have had no official role in this attempt to stage a coup against Trump before he’s even inaugurated, but they must be cheering BuzzFeed’s naughtiness as they sharpen their knives for his administration.

But this attack failed. Trump gained standing against the "fake news" created by the 35 pages. The fakery and smear attempt was just too obvious. One wonders why it was launched at all. Who panicked?

President Obama, major U.S. intelligence heads, neoconservatives, the British government, Ukrainian "nationalist (aka fascist) circles and the Clinton campaign conspire against Trump and try to derail his announced policy changes. Trump has argued for better relations with Russia and for a concentrated fight in Syria and Iraq against ISIS and other Takfiris and Islamists. This endangers Obama's legacies of starting a new cold war with Russia and of pampering al Qaeda and ISIS to overthrow the Syrian government.

Two fights within the U.S. government are being waged within this larger context. One is the fight between the CIA and the U.S. military over spying competence and lethal operations. CIA Director Brennan, who was and is Obama's consigliere and a Saudi operative, has waged a military campaign in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and several other countries.

The CIA's assassinations by drones is an operational issue which the military believes should be under its exclusive control. On the other side military special forces missions have hindered CIA intelligence gathering. The CIA support for and training of various Takfiri militants in Syria, Iraq and Libya is against the interest of the soldiers who eventually will have to fight these groups. The incoming National Security Advisor Flynn warned against the CIA's policies back in 2012 when he led the Defense Intelligence Agency. U.S. special forces then sabotaged such CIA operations in Syria.

With Flynn coming in as National Security Advisor the CIA is in danger of losing this fight. Flynn will argue for a CIA that only collects and analyzes and will likely try to move all operative businesses to the military Joint Special Operations Command.

Today the CIA used its unofficial spokesperson to (again) warn Flynn off. Writing in Jeff Bezos' blog David Ignatius stenographed the threat:

According to a senior U.S. government official, Flynn phoned Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times on Dec. 29, the day the Obama administration announced the expulsion of 35 Russian officials as well as other measures in retaliation for the hacking. What did Flynn say, and did it undercut the U.S. sanctions? The Logan Act (though never enforced) bars U.S. citizens from correspondence intending to influence a foreign government about “disputes” with the United States. Was its spirit violated?

(If Flynn's phone-calls are under FISA surveillance would that not be highly classified? How else would anyone know about them? How many laws were broken by planting this through Ignatius?)

A second area of internal conflict is about the Director of the FBI Comey. He was and is not sufficiently deferential to the Obama cabal and the Clinton campaign. He launched and publicly announced an investigation into Clinton's proven illegal behavior with regard to her private email server, but he refrained from announcing and investigating the obviously fake accusations against Trump which were peddled to him. Such disloyal misdeed demands punishment:

The Justice Department’s inspector general said Thursday that he would open a broad investigation into how the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, handled the case over Hillary Clinton’s emails, .. ... The inspector general’s office said that it was initiating the investigation in response to complaints from members of Congress and the public about actions by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department during the campaign that could be seen as politically motivated.

The inspector general is serving at the pleasure of the president. He can be fired as soon as Trump is in office. Unless he joins the cabal against Trump Comey has nothing to fear.

But the war against Trump is not over. Trump should and must be fought but that fight should be about important economic and social issues for which people care and of which there are plenty.

Trump has his own cabal, libertarian billionaires like the Koch brothers, several generals in his cabinet and arch Zionists like Adelson. But that cabal's henchmen are not yet installed throughout the government. It is important to hinder such infestation.

The fight as it is waged now is an attempt to redirect Trump's foreign policies and to generally lesson his foreign policy power. That fight was already lost during the campaign. Every attempt to accuse Trump of this or that "Russia" outrage that has nothing to do with the average voter's life simply fails. These pseudo scandals waged within the "elite" media against him just makes him stronger.

But the cabal was unable to understand that during the campaign and is still unable to get a grip on it. It will continue its attempts and will lessen its own power through its failures.

Over the past 10 years, Obama alumni have spread throughout the government, the advocacy world, and influential parts of the private sector, including at Google and Facebook. That means there’s a lot diverse talent to harness.

More attacks on Trump will come even when Trump is in full power and starts to clean house.

But all of those who openly work against him will be endangered. The continued open attacks only lay bare the various actors behind them. Those will be be shunned. Each new open attack against Trump will eliminate another power center installed during the Obama administration. If these hopeless attacks continue few will be left to wage the silent, patient resistance against the Trump administration that will be necessary to lessen the damage it will create.

To now attack Trump, Flynn, Comey or even Putin is hopeless and unproductive. It only hinders achieving their long-term aims. One thereby wonders why this panic reaction from one side of the deep state cabal continues. What dirt have they hidden that they fear will be unearthed?

UPDATE: FBI director Comey pissed on the House Democrats at the end of a classified hearing today. This a day after Obama's Justice Department IG opened a case against him (see above). One might guess that Comey has had enough of it OR has now been assured of Trump's backing. The Hill reports:

A number of House Democrats left Friday's confidential briefing on Russian hacking fuming over the actions of FBI Director James Comey and convinced he's unfit to lead the agency.

"I was nonjudgmental until the last 15 minutes. I no longer have that confidence in him," Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, said as he left the meeting in the Capitol.

"Some of the things that were revealed in this classified briefing — my confidence has been shook."
...

Circe, obviously if Trump was planning for war with Iran then McCain would not be actively trying to sabotage him by circulating this dossier. McCain is firmly on the side of the Saudi-Israeli axis, which views Iran as a much greater threat than ISIS.

This is why greater scrutiny of Trump's cabinet is a pre-requisite before attacking what I write. Do the research on his appointees views and statements before and during the hearings. When just about every appointee on his defense and intelligence team believes that Iran is a greater threat than ISIS, and the greatest threat to American interests, you have a team that is on the same page as McCain.

So please explain then, why Trump would select for the most important posts this many individuals who do not believe what he believes? Never mind; they're all, Trump included, fixated on the same target. Trump already stated he would tear up the Iran deal and has made antagonistic comments in regards to Iran and if he stacked his cabinet with Iranophobes it's because Iran is the No. 1 target and there's a plan to take it down.

Trump already reserved a meeting for Netanyahu right after the inauguration, and already did the latter's bidding trying to sabotage the U.N. Resolution on illegal settlements. Netanyahu is gunning for Iran. Iran has been in Israel's crosshairs since Clean Break was authored for Netanyahu by Zionist Americans. Trump will make his masters happy whether he incidentally overlaps with McCain's own views. The McCain/Trump spat is ego-oriented. Trump ridiculed a former POW many Americans consider a hero. McCain wants to inflict karma on Trump, so what? In the larger scheme, McCain is just a peon; and everyone is reading from the same zio-goebbel script outlining the wishes of the Ziofascist cartel that owns Trump and McCain; with some negligible differences on their policy that even the members of the cartel might disagree on, for instance; what to do about Russia.

PM Theresa May at press conference during her visit to 5-Eyes fellow member New Zealand: “It's a long-standing position that we don't comment on such matters, but I think from everything that you will have seen it is absolutely clear that the individual who produced this dossier has not worked for the UK Government for years.”

I don't believe a word of this. NATO has Russia surrounded, CIA has been murdering Russian Ambassadors, Israel bombed Syria yesterday. Seems the US neocons who control Europe are determined to start WW3 before Trump is inaugurated next weekend. Seems to me that Russia is preparing to defend itself. Should we expect a major false flag over the next 7 days which Russia will be blamed for, and used as an excuse to attack?

Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Trump Tower before the Senate intelligence committee announced its inquiry into the 'scope of Russian ...

This is a re-run of the McCarthy days and the House Un-American Activities Committee egregious demonizations, et al. Only this time to slander a PEOTUS before inauguration ... and after the 20th ... there will be NO traditional honeymoon ... this is going to get worse and more dangerous.

@46, anon, 'What amaze me also is that the MSM that spread fake-news every day now, are the ones claiming their nemesis, Trump and Russia are behind the fake news! How could we come to understand this sick behavior?'

there's a dog down the street from me, a nice old fella, with a docked tail. periodically he goes into fits, barking, showing his teeth, and chasing his imaginary tail. they say people, too, feel pain in amputated limbs. that's apparently where the 'progressives' are now. they're feeling pains 'originating' in their consciences, amputated by the nobel peace prize laureate's scalpel. and they are chasing their long-gone tails, showing their teeth, and bark, bark, barking in circles. but they're not 'nice old fellas' like my canine friend down the street.

Yes european warmongers and american dito spread hysteria in their nations right now, is this mere hysteria by themselves or is this coordinated to influence their citizens for war? That these ppl like the paranoid lying defense minister is the ppl who rules this word is so crazy.

American troops tenaciously defend Mosul against a SAA-RU offensive (Central front), while in Ukraine (Northern front), US troops retreat after a fresh defeat in Crimea. Things are relatively quiet in Africa (Southern front). Morale in the American Army is extremely low: the vast majority of ground troops do not believe in the goals of annexing more territory for Greater Israel. 1.5 thousand soldiers desert the army and are put into military stockades. Many underpaid soldiers' families are starving on EBT and Section 8 housing, and are being kicked out of their housing by Khazar rentiers. Meanwhile, ethnic minorities continue to suffer severe repression. Trump orders the wide-scale firing of 'Leftists' in government, while incureables, cripples and the insane (on ObamaCare) are turned out onto the mean streets.

--

Word for word from the Bolshevik Revolution calendar, only the names are changed.

- Chairman says panel will use ‘subpoenas if necessary’ to force testimony
- Moscow accused of collusion with Trump team and of cyber-crimes

A Senate intelligence committee inquiry plans to interview senior figures in the incoming Trump administration as part of its inquiry into Russian hacking of the US election, its chairman said on Friday.

The announcement comes one week before Donald Trump assumes the presidency and amid a bitter row between the president-elect and the US intelligence agencies he will soon lead.

Only yesterday the chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, had told reporters that connections between Trump and Moscow would be outside the remit of his committee’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s attempts to disrupt the US election through hacking and other cyber-crimes.

But in a statement issued jointly with Mark Warner, the panel’s top Democrat, Burr said the committee would use “subpoenas if necessary” to force Trump’s team, as well as officials from the Obama administration, to testify.

“As part of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s oversight responsibilities we believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States,” the statement said.

Among other things, it will examine “counterintelligence concerns related to Russia and the 2016 US election, including any intelligence regarding links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns”.

In an individual statement, Warner said: “This issue impacts the foundations of our democratic system, it’s that important. This requires a full, deep, and bipartisan examination. At this time, I believe that this committee is clearly best positioned to take on that responsibility, but whoever does this needs to do it right.

“If it turns out that SSCI [Senate Select Committee on Intelligence] cannot properly conduct this investigation, I will support legislation to empower whoever can do it right. That is my position now, and it will be my position for the duration of the investigation. I look forward to working with Chairman Burr on this tremendously important matter.”

And people thought the McCarthy days were over ... they have now committed to full de-ligitimization ... by any means, fair or foul, covert or overt, by inference and innuendo and false reporting to the MAX, both in closed classified hearings and not ... polish up on the techniques use to destroy Oppenheimer and many, many others ... goddamnit.

@47 mijj, 'Meanwhile, there's an *actual* Trump-Netanyahu lovefest which will be the source of *actual* escalating problems that could have been used to damage Trump. Why did they chose to go with fantasy rather than reality?'

take a look at your question. it holds its answer - netanyahu, the israeli pm. just as 'nothing can be done' about the about the real subornation of the british government by israel as demonstrated by al jazeera - in an attempt no doubt to paper over qatar's own subornation of the brits and the american 'progressives' - so too, 'nothing can be done' about the real subornation of the usg government by israel, lo these decades old. instead an alternate, fake suborning agent is conjured out of the cia's black cauldron of bullshit and tar and dumped over - everything.

Trump doesn't have to roll because he was in on the Ziocon plan from the beginning.

This is probably the reason Tillerson will be confirmed. It felt like Tillerson channeling Trump on China.: (Note also how Tillerson likens China's activities in the South China Seas to Russia's annexation of Crimea.)

Trump policy is veering towards Cold War with China. Tillerson was no doubt briefed by the Trump team before the hearings. Republicans seem to have no problem whatsoever with his statements. Ever since China strengthened cooperation with Iran; China and Iran are a package deal in the Ziocon plan: neutralize Iran and contain China.

The Chinese didn't waste any time once again in setting Trump straight.:

>>>> Outraged | Jan 13, 2017 7:36:53 PM | 117
From what I understand the foreign policy of the United States is the responsibility of the president so once Trump is sworn in he decides what relations with Russia are going to be like McCain and his ilk will then have to live with it.

Indeed re POTUS Executive powers ... yet their is also the House & the Senate ... look up your history re the House Un-American Activities Committee and the underlying true purpose ... the attempts to destroy a sitting president, Eisenhower ...

Why would the SSCI go Nuclear ? Ever seen his warning on the way out re the MIC ? And that was in it's infancy in 1961 !

President Dwight Eisenhower famously warned the U.S. about the "military–industrial complex" in his farewell address. The military–industrial complex (MIC) is an informal alliance between a nation's military and the defense industry which supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy.

RoHa a commentator at Mondoweiss thinks former MI6 agent steele is not the real deal. "I read that, when he went into hiding, the agent asked his neighbour to look after his cat. Bang goes any credibility right there. No real SIS/MI6 agent would have a pet of any type, and cats are for super villains. This guy is, at best, some minor back room clerk".

Oh, he is the real deal, in terms of who he is and was, not his childish fabrications though..

He is proven lifelong senior career officer within MI6 and a lifelong colleague with a lifelong personal friendship with the current Head of UK's MI6 (as at Oct 2014), 'Lets go to war with Russia', Alex Younger, a career spy who has worked in the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) for more than 20 years.

The above are, verified corroborated facts. Apologies if you may have forgotten to add /irony or /snark ;)

The removal of the National Guard General who commands the thousands of soldiers on duty in DC in the middle of the Inauguration is shocking incompetence. The new administration could have waited until everyone went home. But, it appears there will be a “night of long knives”; a clean sweep of the senior executive service. The rice bowls will be broken of all who ruled the Empire since 2001. This explains the fierceness and scatology of the attacks. We shall see how violent it turns out. But, a war with Russia, would be catastrophic. I, also, don’t see how the Trump Administration resolves the contradiction between Israel’s support of the Daesh and the Islamic State being America’s enemy #1. A war with Iran would make this a moot point but that would be contrary to a reconciliation with Russia. The final nail of an ending empire’s ineptitude would be the ignoring of the arctic methane releases and sea level rise due to climate change.

There are some real experts about Russia in the USA, perhaps the leading one is Stephen F Cohen. He says:
"This is, if not the endgame, if not the last chapter, an attempt to destroy Trump's presidency before he gets to the White House."

"As for that document -- published in BuzzFeed or whatever -- I've seen stuff like that before in Moscow. It's junk."

"You send me to Moscow and I could get you a better dossier and it wouldn't even have the factual errors in it. It's scuttlebutt, it's rumor. It's generated by so-called private intelligence agents who are out there to make a buck. They'll sell it to anybody."

"What is it doing in our political discourse? What are the motives? Why did CNN put it on the air? Why is the FBI and the CIA even touching this stuff?"

"Something's going on, I've been doing this -- studying Russia as a professor and even was on the inside for 40 years -- I've never seen anything like this. People in the mainstream media -- authoritative media, places like The New York Times -- are calling Trump a puppet of the Kremlin! They're wounding him mortally as a national security president before he even gets in the White House."

"It didn't begin with this, it began with the Clinton campaign when they decided to run against Trump and Putin instead of Trump and Pence. It got picked up with this so-called three intelligence agency report, published last week that was absolutely empty. Even The New York Times -- which is very anti-Trump and anti-Russian -- referred to that intelligence report as lacking any evidence whatsoever. Now we get what is essentially tabloid stuff. I can only assume -- it's an assumption -- that people in this country are desperate to ruin Trump for various reasons and one way is to stop any detente or cooperation with Russia."

Cohen argues that the real enemies of US national security are the American senators (McCain, Graham and their bipartisan allies in Congress) and mainstream media (now spearheaded by The New York Times and seconded by The Washington Post) waging a campaign against Trump’s proposed cooperation with Russia, presumably first and foremost against terrorists in Syria and elsewhere. In this connection, Cohen makes the following points:

§ Cold warriors insist, as they have for years, that “Putin’s Russia” represents the “No. 1 existential threat to America.” (Russia seems not to appear on the short list of threats that Trump’s transition team has given to the Department of Defense.) Cold warriors promote their myopic priority by adding two new allegations to their longstanding vilification of Putin: that he intervened in America’s presidential election to tilt the scale in Trump’s favor; and that he has committed war crimes in Syria, particularly in Aleppo. Cohen explains there are—at least at this time—no facts or logic to support either allegation, only an obsessive desire to disqualify Putin, potentially the most valuable US national-security partner, as such a partner. In this reckless pursuit, the enemies of détente engage in neo-McCarthyite tactics intended to silence pro-détente Americans, branding them “lackeys of the Kremlin,” and seek to cripple Trump as a foreign-policy president even before he takes office and thus US national security itself. (Their demand for retaliation against Russia for its purported “cyber-attack” on the presidential election is viewed in Moscow as a threat approaching a declaration of war.)

§ More generally, American cold warriors blame Putin for the failure of their polices around the world, from their support for “moderate rebels” against Syria’s President Assad to the rise of anti–status quo electorates in Europe, the UK, and the United States itself. In fact, Putin, whom President Obama pledged “to isolate” two years ago, has less to do with these failures than do the follies of US foreign policies, including regime-change wars and “liberal globalization,” whose economic and cultural dimensions have increasingly alienated voters in many countries. As a result, Putin has emerged for millions of people abroad, without much trying, as a symbol of resistance to the “American hegemon” that, they believe, has undermined their economies, offended their traditional values, and, in the Middle East, brought war to their countries. Still more, to the extent that the image of American democracy abroad has been damaged by the 2016 presidential election, the fault lies not in the Kremlin but in America itself.

§ Above all, demonizing Putin has become a bipartisan excuse for not rethinking bipartisan US foreign policy. Vilifying President-elect Trump as a “Kremlin puppet,” or “Kremlin poodle,” as the Times’s Nicholas Kristof labeled the new president, has become an additional excuse. Meanwhile, the real threats to US and international security continue to grow.

The next stage in the Psyop coup campaign has commenced, openly concurrently with the SSCI, multi-faceted, and branching out into every area/topic, including *ahem* polling, now. Some headlines extraordinarily blatant and provocative. The MIC et al have fully committed, hell or high water, IMHO:

John Lewis doesn't think Donald Trump is a legitimate president
Washington Post - 4 hours ago
For the first time, a leading Democrat has called into question Donald Trump's legitimacy as president. Rep. John Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil-rights icon, told NBC's Chuck Todd in an interview for Sunday's "Meet the Press ...

Donald Trump is remarkably unpopular
Vox - 10 hours ago
Donald Trump defied the odds to win the 2016 US presidential election. When he announced his candidacy, virtually nobody thought he had a shot at securing the Republican Party nomination.

@109 oui... thanks.. the uk is another branch of the propaganda dept... folks think they might be getting a more impartial or non usa perspective, but in fact - it is just another echo chamber for war, by the same two - usa/uk that never saw a war they couldn't get behind.. chatham and on and on - propaganda outlets with paid for research by the usual suspects..

what shocks me is the fact these 2 warmongers - mccain or graham - are regularly given a platform to spout their warmongering bs.. i guess that just goes to show you how the msm happily oblige the mil and wall st on a regular basis.. you want war 24/7/ no problem.. we will quote these first rate assholes regularly..

My suspicion is that Steele sent out the word he was looking for dirt ... and reports of dirt came in and it will turn out that he did little more than compile them ...

Is is surprising that Jeb Bush and the Clinton campaign (or their proxies) never apparently used the dirt that they paid Steele to assemble? I would guess he briefed them as part of the contractual process, pre-requisite to getting paid ...

Just flipped the channel past Maddow who has decided it's "significant" -- she said darkly -- the Steele is "in hiding" from the Russian ... oh christ ... I suspect he's in "hiding" from all sorts of people who want to know more about his sources and his methodology (since no one has been able to verify his "dirt") -- The anonymous Jeb and Clinton supporters who paid him for this "research" he decided to give away for free might be interested in his cooperation as well (since they both opposed Trump) ... YMMV>

Susan, 'tis beyond suspicion, that is precisely what he did, have you read the #Fake 'Dossier' itself, the furthest and most determined old colleague, gave up in utter disgust at page 13, of 35 pages !

It is detailed in amongst the previous thread, key leaders and players in the Dems & DNC and the McCain Never-Trump! GOP faction(later)(& a myriad of others) disseminated them, including briefings by anonymous administration officials to lend credence to the dross to the media outlets to 'go for it' and publish(trust us) ... widely distributed throughout Congress, to key parties officials and throughout the media, and who else?), up to six months ago ...

The #Fake fraud was ordered up, and produced for payment, by and with the assistance of the UK MI6, using an Ex(?)-MI6 operative running an MI6 'Front Company'(?), the ultimate in political dirty tricks and #Fake dirt/mud unit activities taken to the State & International level, and MI6 and at the very least, elements of the Clandestine Service of the CIA are intimately and deeply implicated and directly involved in support of the above factions/players.

Post Congress' formal Approval of the PEOTUS as the new POTUS come the 20th, they then went nuclear and released the #Fake filth, carefully timed for the media cycle in advance of the fixed date of the trump News Conference, no accident, not coincidental.

MI6 and Christopher Steele would have no doubt been assured at the time of the original request to create the fabrication, that it would never be released publicly, just, 'used' ... then the coup-grouping became irrational and desperate, and decided, so Nuland like, "F*ck the UK/MI6, release the 'memo bundle, and nail Trump and his cohorts! we've got to go for the jugular!'

the current balls-out efforts to prevent any form of "detente" w/ russia keeps me returning to jerry sanders' book "peddlers of crisis", documenting the campaigns to derail the trilat global managers as carter took office and sway public opinion against diplomacy, isolationism and bargaining back toward an increased militarization of the economy by keeping u.s. vs 'the soviet threat' at the core of national foreign policy. back then it was "team b" massaging the intelligence and a coalition of diverse interest groups masterfully controlling the narrative via the msm. seeing lots of parallels these days, noting the permeable skin of u.s. political culture -- only microns thick and shrinking fast -- that allow neolibs and neocons to unite in common cause...

yes, it occurs to me that this dodgy dossier was not created to "hurt Trump" ... but to help "trigger an investigation" (a fishing expedition) and add to "stink" ... "triggering an investigation" was the ultimate objective all along ...

There were two requests for FISA warrants that were refused ... they apparently wanted to phone tap 4 members of Trump's team and were told to narrow the focus (all of this apparently 'leaked" info of questionable wanted to

As CNN first reported, the FBI has been examining for well over a year allegations about former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his firm and their connections to pro-Putin figures in Ukraine. That probe has also touched on other lobbying firms in Washington that were involved in Ukraine political work -- including the Podesta Group, the firm of Tony Podesta, brother of John Podesta.
RELATED: US accuses Russia of trying to interfere with 2016 election
The FBI also has looked into alleged meetings former Trump adviser Carter Page had in Russia related to individuals under US sanctions. Among those who suggested the FBI investigate this possible connection was Sen. Harry Reid, the chamber's Democratic leader, who has made public a letter he sent to the FBI on the matter. So far the investigation hasn't yielded much beyond the initial claim.

I'm not sure how they "learned" about the 3 FISA requests - the last reportedly was granted - if so, who have they been "monitoring"

The request by US investigators, to track four members of his team, was allegedly rejected but then eventually granted in October last year.

The FISA court knew that the FBI was investigating ... They were presented "evidence" to justify the warrant, going back to August (when Steele first started shopping his "dossier"). No idea why a warrant was granted in October ... perhaps they narrowed it down to 1 person ... or found more "evidence" to justify.

The dossier did have to "prove" anything, it's existence was enough, particularly with the MI-6 connection.
IDK

P)atrick Cockburn finds Steele's readily available sources highly suspicious ... folks in a position to know are few enough and prioritize self-preservation above rumor mongering

The conclusions reached in the Trump dossier similarly claim to be based on multiple sources of information where, in the nature of things, they are unlikely to exist. The dossier cites at least seven of them. “Speaking to a trusted compatriot in June 2016 sources A and B, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry and a former top level Russian intelligence officer still active inside the Kremlin respectively, [said that] the Russian authorities had been cultivating and supporting US Republican presidential candidate, Donald TRUMP, for at least five years.”

snip

The former member of MI6, Christopher Steele, reportedly has a high reputation in espionage circles and was stationed in Moscow 20 years ago. The New York Times is unworried by his consequent inability to travel to Moscow “to study Mr Trump’s connections there”. This is where the famed MI6 tradecraft proved so useful. Steele is said to have “hired native Russian speakers to call informants inside Russia and made surreptitious contact with his own connections in the country as well.”

The word “contact” is a useful word for journalists because it could mean a highly-placed friend or, alternatively, it might refer to some lowly freelancer who is being paid to supply information.

@ Susan, not just an investigation, it also includes your former, to 'hurt trump'. This is a multi-faceted, multi-headed, well planned, resourced, co-ordinated and executed, Campaign! There are multiple objectives, primary/secondary & opportunity and multiple pathways and it's execution is now branching out into to utilizing suborned and #Fake NGO's to 'lend' legitimize to the falsities.

'CNN headline: Trump is not a legitimate President'

Actually, the Coup-grouping first started shopping the #Fake crap starting as early as June! bassed onn my latest research. The fabrications are in a 'bundle of memos', there is and never was any Intelligence Report, it is Formally, Officially & Publicly disowned and disavowed by the ODNI and all Heads of ALL the 17 Intelligence Agencies, though the MSM does NOT correctly or accurately report this.

Why ? Because they were created sequentially, the fabricated memo's, to give the 'illusion' of ongoing discoveries and 'sources' updates from the non-existent highly credible, trusted, deep access, Russian sources. Hah, what a load of crap ! Though it is a well known COINTELPRO technique/methodology going all the way back to the days of J Edgar H, and even earlier.

And, this campaign is not to overthrow some tinpot dictator to replace with another somewhere over 'there'. It is being conducted against the properly elected POTUS (regardless of any individuals dislikes, slanders and projections, valid or otherwise).

This is a Coup attempt. The SSCI actions and declarations on behalf of the plotters, now prove that, beyond doubt.

Intelligence sources vouch for credibility of Russia dossier author
The Guardian - 18 minutes ago
His denials – at least some of them – were emphatic, even by the standards that Donald Trump has come to be judged by. The dossier, he said, was a confection of lies; he compared it to Nazi propaganda; it was fake news spread by sick people. At his ...

...

And his interest in Russia did not diminish as he continued to rise up the ranks, which at the time included his friend and contemporary Alex Younger – now head of MI6.

...

It is unlikely that Steele would have had direct contact with the unnamed Kremlin officials who allegedly gave sensitive information on the president-elect. In fact, it’s believed the former spy hasn’t been able to visit Russia for more than 20 years.

Rather, Steele would have tapped up his network of sources deep inside the country, some of them dating from his time there, others cultivated later, British officials suggested.

In turn, these individuals will have had sources of their own. Steele would likely have subcontracted some of his Trump investigation to trusted intermediaries in Moscow, who will have reported back to him via secure channels. (Inserted. Comment: And cannot therefore verify any of it, exactly how ? Assuming it wasn't just fabricated by Steele individually, though given the many indicators within, the sources he used were known OUN operatives who gave him, MI6 & the CIA exactly what they asked for, 'wink, wink'.)

...

It was Steele’s job to collate, evaluate and verify this material before passing it to his American client Fusion GPS, a Washington-based political research firm.

The company had been hired originally by one of Trump’s early Republican opponents before the contract was taken up by senior Democrats.

... a former UK ambassador to Moscow, who is understood to have passed the dossier to the Republican senator John McCain, who in turn passed it to the FBI.

Unverified rumors, from some guy who bought unverified rumors from some other guy for cash, who got what he knew from some other fella for cash. Sub-sub-sub-sub-contracted cash-for-comment. Result, no possibility to corroborate any of it. It should have been shredded at first sight.

Key Point is the CIA got it from 'Senior Democrats'(Separately, later, much later. They already had it, as it was produced) and the FBI got if from McCain, who got it from an MI6 operative under Diplomatic Cover (UK D-Notice)(and almost certainly also passed to FBI by the CIA-FBI Liaison and/or Director/Deputy Directors, much earlier than McCain). The CIA also got it from MI6, as it was being created, sequentially. High probability re other events/associations/actions, other sources. It is also the very purpose & nature of inter-agency operations & dissemination) ...

Any such sources are never identified, even vaguely, such detail is the mostly tightly held compartmented classified material that exists, and is NEVER, NEVER, released to anyone, anywhere for consumption and NEVER, NEVER publicly. IF they existed, and they clearly don't, they would already be, dead.

By the time enough Americans had accepted Trump to make him our 45th president, Manafort had all but disappeared from view. He’d resigned from the campaign on Aug. 19, after one too many run-ins with the candidate about his temper and one too many exposés about Manafort’s alleged ties to Russian oligarchs. His replacement, Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon, let Trump be Trump. Since the election, Bannon’s influence has only grown, with his appointment as chief White House strategist drawing attention to his ties with white nationalists and the alt-right. But during the campaign, while Bannon was making noise with the fringe and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus was greasing wheels with the party faithful, it was Manafort who had the discipline to get Trump past a dismal stretch of spring primaries and on a solid road to the nomination, articulating the message the candidate would eventually ride to victory, then stepping aside when he saw that he wasn’t its most practical face.

Baffling ... I can't find anything published after 11/28/2016 to corroborate Manafort's current place in the Trump machine ... but I'm too tired to look harder ... Night all.

I have written of VP Pence's invoking the 25th Amendment as the most logical goal of the establishment (see @35).

The Duran notes how dumb it was of Trump to pick Pence. Trump has said or done some other "dumb" things that lead me to question if he is a willing participant in a political 'show' that ends with Pence as President. Only time will tell.

His not discussing policy with his nominees. Possibly to avoid some 'micro-management' objection but still seems strange.

Not releasing his taxes. An expectation of all Presidential candidates.

The signing over of his business to his sons seems like stunt - complete with displaying a stack of papers that reporters could not examine and combativeness of insisting that it wasn't legally necessary.

His too-vocal support for Israel during the strange UN vote. Traditionally, US politician's support for Israel has been measured. Trump didn't even get a lot of money from Adelson.

OTOH why would the establishment engage in such a destructive 'show'? And I believe that Flynn really had/has a clashed with TPTB.

See Link at 123, and recall Former President Eisenhower's remarkable public warning only as recently as 1961 ? seems only just yesterday ...

Why ?

Because they have an ~71 year old incrementally developed, constantly ever-growing and fully committed investment as the MIC-Deep-State. Strip-mining the US economy and assets/resources bare and US citizens be damned, they can take the hindmost, or the 'Nation State' for that matter.

Accumulating ever more vast, ludicrouls extraordinary wealth and ultimate 'Above da Law' power/s. It's called, protecting a long term investment (a ~71 year old one ...) and they will stop at nothing to do so ... :(

Here's one I heard over high tea today: Trump will be setting off so many tweets from his New York City penthouse that the Orange Jesuit's hair will be on fire, then they'll have to call up the Matzo Brigade on WS to put him out with Goldman showers.

If there is shame here, it is not with those playing the game of nations. It lies instead with those who would passively allow their democratic institutions to be suborned to the benefit of a foreign power.

President-elect Donald Trump wants to emphasize flexibility in dealing with America’s two largest strategic rivals, basing the relationships on the degree to which China and Russia cooperate with U.S. economic, diplomatic and military priorities.

In an hourlong interview, Mr. Trump said he would keep intact sanctions against Russia imposed by the Obama administration “at least for a period of time.” He also said he wouldn’t commit to America’s longstanding agreement with China over Taiwan until he sees what he considers progress from Beijing in its currency and trade practices.

“If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?”

The desire to change relations between Washington and Moscow has been a goal of several presidents since tensions began rising under President Vladimir Putin’s leadership. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought the same goal early in the Obama administration, as did President George W. Bush, who met Mr. Putin early in his first term.

THE TRUMP TRANSITION

But Mr. Trump’s diplomatic efforts will have to compete with those in Congress, including many Republicans, who want to see the administration take a tough line with Russia after U.S. intelligence concluded that the government of Mr. Putin sought to influence the November presidential election with a campaign of cyberhacking.

Additionally, an unsubstantiated dossier of political opposition research suggesting ties between Mr. Trump and Russia was published this past week—drawing condemnation from Mr. Trump and his team but keeping Russian espionage in the spotlight. The allegations haven’t been validated by the U.S. intelligence agencies.

Mr. Trump in the interview suggested he might do away with the Russian sanctions—imposed by the president in late December in response to Moscow’s alleged cyberattacks—if the nation proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to the U.S. The president-elect said he is prepared to meet with Mr. Putin some time after he is sworn in.

“I understand that they would like to meet, and that’s absolutely fine with me,” he said.

"They're wounding him mortally as a national security president before he even gets in the White House."

If you say so, Steve. That's COHEN'S THOUGHT-PLACEMENT IN YOUR BRAIN. They want you all lined up like clucks, trussed and water-boarded and stress-positioned for the Big Smackdown on the 20th, and never mind all the high crimes and treasons in rapid succession, like the now $29 TRILLION national debt ratchet up. They want USAryans circling the wagons, no matter what Trump says about YOU paying for The Wall, or his new CHINESE buddy, billionaire Jack Ma of the Alibaba manufacturing equipment and manufactured merchandise Amazon East, or his ISRAELI Son-in-Law, as dual-role Trump Security Advisor and Special Envoy to Netanyahu.

"They're wounding him mortally...hurry!"

THEY NEED YOUR EMOTIONAL BUY-IN, BEFORE THEY CAN BLEACH YOUR MIND!

They are aiming for a 1939 Olympics moment on the 20th, with cartwheeling swastikas, and a giant TRUMP banner trailing in the sky behind a drifting Zeppelin, dropping little American flags on tiny parachutes, before the Hueys swoop low with pepper gas to pelt the protesters.

"BOMB THE ZOOKS FOR JESUS!" as 'The Nation's Preacher' Billy Graham once advised US. "BOMB THE ZOOKS FOR JESUS!" Well, maybe it was 'gooks'. Yeah, think he said 'gooks'.

If Democratic Rep. Lewis actually maintains Donald Trump is NOT President [elect] then it is himself that is intellectually disqualified from holding public office. This meme needs be buried and quickly, maybe those holding it as well.

Glenn Simpson (Fusion-GPS) hired Christopher Steele (Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd.) , a former British intelligence officer with whom he had worked before. Steele, in his early 50s, had served undercover in Moscow in the early 1990s and later was the top expert on Russia at the London headquarters of Britain’s spy service, MI6.

Technically Lewis is refusing to accept the formal joint sitting of the Congress' approval and acceptance of the election results and State elector returns. In, having approved the result and trumps formal confirmation as POTUS come the 20th.

In effect, Rep Lewis is defiantly refusing to accept the decision and will of the Senate and the House by such assertion. Therefore, as you say, he cannot, could not, be of sound mind and faculties to do so, in defiance of both House & Senate having sat jointly and affirmed the result, the Constitution and his own sworn Oath upon taking Office.

Have you considered this is nothing less than 'The Red Scare' of the late '40's to '50's reheated. A massive investment was made presenting and convincing the public that 'communism was bad, therefore be afraid when …' and that investment has never been abandoned and is being brought back to life again for political ends. The psychological power of The Red Scare to override rational calculations is immense; used politically to browbeat alternative experiences it cowed Truman with the mantra of 'Who Lost China?' reinforced in the deification of John Birch and the church/Society, and the political terrorisation of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. None of that has gone away, only underground and is now zombie-ishly revisiting the public discourses. Another wooden stake is required to retire this generation of creatures. One should note also that although L.B. Johnson took the hit for the Vietnam 'War', the driving force was actually a result of The Red Scare and the political obeisance he needed to observe to avoid being accused of loss of S.E. Asia through falling 'dominoes' as propounded by 5* General-President Eisenhower - a.k.a. War Hero Par Excellence and his band of merry Dulles Bros. and kindred spirits. But, as old maxims portend - those not learning their history, may be required to return to class and learn it again - or experience the farce of it.

Would recommend for your edification a book currently being read: Peter Frankopan The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, (ISBN 978-1-4088-3999-7). A brilliant read, well written, superbly referenced with current academic investigations and marvellously enlightening. You will not be disappointed having experienced this book.

We all agree there is a need to provide technical details on Russian hacking.

xxxxxxxxxxxx - urges you and xxxxxxxxxxxx to bring up again the issue with xxxxxxxxxxxx. It's quite important, especially as we approach the
hearings.

If there are no technical details we have to find some by all means. I am sure his guys can do it.

We are short of time.

Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent from my iPhone

********************

IMPORTANI NOTICE: This e-mail message and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to
which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, proprietary or otherwise protected from
disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying or
other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please

the implication is that the five names blacked out above are known, though not revealed in this post. if it is real, those names will be revealed.

Respectfully, The Red Scare and all that history entails is unspeak 1.n. mode of speech that persuades by stealth. E.g., climate change, war on terror, ethnic cleansing, road map. [A definition found on the front of a book by Steven Poole UNspeak™, (ISBN 0-316-73100-5) akin to 'framing' but with nuance]. It is sort of difficult to have an argument with a position that has little basis in reality but can persuade sufficiently enough support to be politically formidable. In many ways it is like proving the negative, a position best avoided for obvious reason. This being the centenary of The Red Scare, a mass of emotional investment producing fear and rejection is nearly impossible to overturn with reason, likewise the association of The Red Scare with Donald Trump reignites those emotions with enough numbers and anything to the contrary is dismissed automatically. In debate, that would be a formidable position to achieve, particularly if a coup d'état against a legitimate position is desired. YMMV

:) That is not my position nor proposed, 'challenging discussion'. Cheers.

The following is explanatory and sets the scene (rough)...

@ All (somewhat 'deeper/philosophical' post than my norm)

As one has posted, often over time at the Bar, it is critically important to not get too caught up in minutia or detail, as an end in itself, instead it is important to periodically stand back from the individual trees (details), stop looking at & analyzing to the Nth degree these details(individual trees) and look upon the entire forest, ponder more deeply, and conduct an ongoing assessment/review. This then feeds into further inquiries to confirm or deny the interim assessments conclusions, and/or better understand a collection/series of events, and move forward from there.

In this case, this is illuminated by possibly secret/hidden knowledge/understanding, one proposes, actually behind the famous quote attributed to Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950), an American political consultant, and (as of 2005) was U.S. President George W. Bush's senior advisor and chief political strategist. On February 8, 2005, Rove was appointed deputy chief of staff in charge of policy.

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not the way the world really works anymore." He continued "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

There is a clear obvious meaning, though it has always troubled me as being insufficient and incomplete.

However, being who and what Rove is, as a person and given his character/nature, therefore one proposes there is an almost smarmy, smug, secret knowledge behind the stated quote, given it's unusual phrasing. IMHO, because of his character, he couldn't resist ... hinting at, as an egotist with an inflated sense of his own position and status, something deeper. Which leads me into ...

The two questions proffered at 166.

One assesses that the probable answer to both questions, is, the same. Even if one party, may have only understood it incompletely, subconsciously/experienced. Have a premise, that may also provide a simpler, clearer, Holistic explanation for most of what we have observed since Trump first entered the Presidential Race thru to today and moving forward.

Any takers interested, with a little time, in brainstorming the preceding ?

(Brainstorming: In this instance to 'enter a violent disturbance of the mind re held perception/understanding' and, concurrently to 'creatively challenge/critic/assess/develop')

Our whistleblowers gave us information that Russia was going to face great provocation. The Americans intend to manufacture false evidence of the Russian security services’ involvement in cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential elections 2016.
We cover the names of the provocation facilitators in order not to expose our sources. It is worth saying, a famous American politician and major financier took part in the plot.

A Google search for the disclaimer reveals that it is proprietary to Soros Fund Management LLC. Use of the iPhone suggests it could be for example from Michael.Vachon@soros.com - Here is one Podesta email on Wikileaks for comparison:

wrt Dossier ... Jeb Bush -- previously mentioned as GOP candidate whose proxies hired Steele -- left the race 02/20/2016. Presumably his supporters who paid for "oppo research" stopped the project at that point, so the GOP funding appears to have been rather short lived ...

Reportedly financed by anonymous Clinton supporters, the dossier was continued until August, when Steele frustrated to see no results from his work so far began shopping the dossier around. He was either free to do so or this was part of agreement new David Corn from Friday.

The former spy told me that he had been retained in early June by a private research firm in the United States to look into Trump's activity in Europe and Russia. "It started off as a fairly general inquiry," he recalled. One question for him, he said, was, "Are there business ties in Russia?" The American firm was conducting a Trump opposition research project that was first financed by a Republican source until the funding switched to a Democratic one. The former spy said he was never told the identity of the client.

There are a number of hard-to-believe elements and -- as I've mentioned before -- questions about who knew what about this dossier when it was a "work in progress" prior to Steele approaching the FBI and other "intelligence agencies" also in August. Regardless, on something of a mission from god, he provided them the "goods" on Trump (which he considered significant and to represent a danger to western democracies) and then grew impatient when the "bomb" failed result in a loud explosion... so he decided to push, push, push the issue.

For temporal reference, the p*ssygrab tape "bombshell" was released around 10/07/2016 and failed to meet expectations wrt to its lethality.

Did the FBI suspect "the dossier" was politically motivated grandstanding or attempted preemption of normal intelligence agency protocols (based on the assumption that the intelligence community had not conducted similar inquiries wrt Trump & Manifort (et al.) and Russian business dealings. How frustrating it must have been for Steele that no one "took the bait" he had prepared. People keep saying it was "too close to the election" and deferring to official intelligence agencies to handle it. Steele apparently wants to paint this as his one-man-crusade, but I'm guessing he had "friends" beyond the journalists and others who circulated the dossier in his cause.

@164 A few of us here followed the story as far as it went. Last I heard Masot had resigned, Ms. Strizzolo has not as yet been hung, drawn and quartered on Tyburn Hill, and Boris Johnson considers the matter closed. Do you have anything new?

this is so blatantly stupid (even more than the "Steele" report which already set the bar very high on idiocy) I'm not sure why you want to "research" that void "document"... no name/no sender/no recipient, just 3 generic lines anyone above 8 is able to type

yes, you're probably right. who would send such a thing from their spiPhone? if it were real though, all five names would be intact and eventually - soon - divulged. without names it's just as you say. and with names it needs verification.

Interesting ... among other things, it says Steele contacted FBI in July/August ...
Oh, also, reminder that he "came on board" to the dossier project in June, although the firm had been hired in September 2015.
He and partner hoped that they could ride the hacking scandal to get their dossier the attention they believed was long overdue.

re jfls 167 if assuming it is even legitimate (that's a major brass balls call!)

Initial superficial analysis on JFLs 167

Anyway, assuming it is legitimate (significant assumption):

A coup-like plot or 'action' in relation to the 2016 Elections, at the highest levels involving at least two Government Agencies/Departments is implied by the nature and context of the message. The message was sent from the senders Iphone (Idiot/Arrogance - such communication should only ever occur in person, in a secure, previously 'swept' , environment).

It was sent on at 10:03PM on 1/8/207 (assumed a US timezone)

The footer 'Important Notice' indicates a governmental or corporate setup for the phone and if not 'cropped' (cutoff) would have directly identified/indicated the parent organization supporting the Iphone user re technical support.

Subject Re: Elections 2016

The nature and structure of the message implies the sender is acting on behalf of another, given the phrasing, the driver/patron of the co-operative activity (coup related plotting?).

The unknown {Patron} is at: '[redacted]' urges you and ...

The addressee the message was sent to is tasked by the {sender} on behalf of the {Patron} to, in conjunction with '[redacted]' urges you and [redacted] to bring up again the issue with [redacted].

The 'issue' to be raised by addressee {unknown1} jointly with {unknown2} is with {unknown3}.

The 'issue', is the first message sentence:

We all agree there is a need to provide technical details on Russian Hacking.

Hence:

It's quite important, especially as we approach the hearings.

The issue, above, has been raised before, now it is imperative that it be raised again, with {unknown2} providing support or additional influence ?

Time is a factor, regarding the raising of 'the issue', as at 1/8/2017 10:03pm, as known/confirmed Hearings(therefore a fixed/known date) are approaching.

If there are no technical details we have to find some by all means.

This would clearly indicate if {unknown3} cannot or is unable to provide them, having been approached a second time by {unknown1} supported by {unknown2} then as a group/conspirators they will have to fabricate some 'technical details', perhaps ?

I am sure his guys can do it.

Sender is certain that {unknown3} can fabricate(?) 'technical details' using his 'guys' if necessary.

We are short of time.

{Sender} on behalf of {Patron}, emphasizing/stressing the need for urgency to achieve the required technical details in advance of the already known set/planned fixed date Hearings.

Summary initial analysis.

Likely the unidentified 'Financier'{Patron}, through his subordinate/representative or agent{Sender} contacts a senior individual{unknown1} who has access and influence, with the assistance/support of {unknown2} to again urge {unknown3} to [provide technical details on Russian hacking] in advance of the upcoming Hearings within sufficient time. If {unknown3} cannot provide them he is to utilize 'his guys' to fabricate the requirement [provide technical details on Russian hacking] in sufficient time. Speed and meeting the known deadline is of the essence.

Likely {unknown1} is a Senior entity with considerable access and influence with or between Government Agencies/Departments.

The Hearings Probably are the just announced Senate Select Committee Intelligence(SSCI) hearings into Russian Hacking of the election. Secondary targets Trumps proposed Administration candidates. Primary target as a result is the President-elect, Trump, his presidency and his Administration.

The Hearings will be used as a sham, Star-Chamber mechanism and as a means to destroy the Trump candidates and Trump as a consequence, whether or not believable or purposely false/fabricated 'Closed Session' 'classified' 'Technical details on Russian Hacking' are used to accomplish the aim.

Comment: If this is legitimate it is dynamite. It amounts to a RICO conspiracy to subvert the Constitution and conspiracy to commit Treason, at a minimum.

Speculative: {unknown1} may possibly be someone such as Senator McCain, Graham, or Reid, for example. {Sender} and/or {unknown1} and/or {unknown2} are possibly to likely be SSCI committee members given the requirement to have foreknowledge and to manage/handle/steer the conspiracy within the Committee Hearings/Meetings process.

Note: Have not had time as yet to confirm SSCI committee members identities.

@ Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Jan 14, 2017 11:03:11 AM | 177
Goods points, as previously discussed have found indications of earliest initial memo, first of subsequent total 'bundle' of memos(Dossier) available June 2016, and then graduated fabrication release serially over time subsequent. In any case, definitely at minimum two months prior to October, possibly as many as four months prior.

It would seem it only became a single document, a bundle, as at release to Buzzfeed(Jan 2017), & other media source outlets, etc, or possibly, in that form, only the immediately preceding months during unsuccessful though wide 'secret' distribution discussion/influence seeking ... starting early October ? As partially corroborated by various.

See your 183 now, so it all fits as we surmised and discussed, we've got multiple corroboration, now.

So, October is out. Earliest partial or whole(?) availability June 2016 & at the very least July 2016. They must have shopped this for quite awhile ... probably as each individual memo was fabricated to increase sense of legitimate sources, as each subsequent 'memo was shopped following on from the previous one. Hence increasing supposed validity of each previous individual fabrication presented, and also the sum of the whole, the 'dossier', the bundle, especially with the gullible who were conned throughout.

Looks to me like there is ongoing walk-back ... the folks who wanted to demostrate their insider cred (knew about it since August) are now fudging a bit since it looks like they too "sat on it"
Steele says nakedly in the independent that Comey sat on it for partisan reasons and issued his November letter similarly ... all making HIS dossier and his efforts at publication/distribution more clearly partisan.
Steele compiled his memos into the dossier ... however, it's interesting that this all cames about within 2 months (or less) (depending on the date) he started on this project (while earlier reports suggested he had been laboring for almost a year)

However, say security sources, Mr Steele became increasingly frustrated that the FBI was failing to take action on the intelligence from others as well as him. He came to believe there was a cover-up, that a cabal within the Bureau blocked a thorough inquiry into Mr Trump, focusing instead on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

He sounds "over-invested" and a bit of a paranoiac ... I'm guessing everyone was very excited when Steele announce he had real dirt on Trump, and then backed off when they examined the dossier ... he "assumed" the FBI's inaction was "political" rather than the slow grinding of investigation necessary because -- in fact -- his dossier was not the "slam dunk" he thought it was ... again, the stink of a "true believer" fills the room ... likely ties into the years-long anti-Putin crusade and crusaders from the Litvinenko ...

I don't believe that McCain had never heard of him ... or the dossier (but that's neither here nor there) particularly given the Manafort / Yanukovych angles -- which would have brought Manafort to attention of the intelligence communities back before the putsch ... doncha think?

FWIW, there was talk briefly about another dossier, financial iirc ... maybe that will surface again, or not.

An axe to grind with Vladimir Putin, both Simpson (Fusion-GPS) and Steele (Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd.) felt they were doing important work, now in late stage not getting paid by a client. Why not hand reports in a dossier over to a known anti-Putin extremist like John McCain, a friend of Russia's Boris Yeltsin when the state's assets were stolen by the happy few oligarchs, pushing the Russian people beyond poverty. The US Intelligence Community did the rest to get the "vetted" summary published by the friendly media.

It is worth saying, a famous American politician and major financier took part in the plot ...

The 'famous American politician' is likely to be the entity {unknown1} given his/her senior role, assumed ability to obtain access and exercise influence/direction when doing so, given assigned tasking, and is clearly senior to {unknown2}, his/her junior within the status of their individual relationship.

Given the above statement, this would indicate that IF the {Sender}, is also a committee member(assumed), then he/she is likely junior in Public profile/status/seniority, as only one of the supposed conspirators is a famous American politician, given above statement.

{Patron} is the supposed, major financier.

That's it unless something else surfaces. At least we have place-holder to assign names to if it holds any water at all and names pop-up. A complete unknown ... maybe it's the Russian equivalent of 4Chan, trolling the internet ?! FIIK

Agree, given all info about him being a Russophobe, with an inflated sense of his special Russian access and Career expertise an MI6 'Russian specialist', based on a career of doing quite a lot of questionably legitimate taskings (faking/making crap up/handling Litvinenko(?), etc). Flushed with his 'unique' value given the 'Dossier', maybe the very fate of the western World, self delusion , maybe ? Haha!

Also, if he was successful in that regard, he'd be able to obtain further reward/compensation, *ahem*, a definite motivation to, push, push, push, even if he may not have had an unreconstructed ideological Cold War warrior mindset ...

Yes, supposedly financial, also don't forget, supposedly incriminating compromising video footage of Trump too (Extremely unlikely!) ... given the childish 'dossier' fabrication, even if they did exist, as dodgy fabrications, would it mean anything ?! or could we expect another MSM #Fake News tsunami ... :(

@ outraged
It may be worth checking on the cyberberkut site from time to time.
When things were cooking in ukraine I would check on their site out of curiosity from time to time. Generally documents hacked from various Ukraine government departments, one time they got into the phone of a US official visiting Kiev (forgotten who) but always in Ukraine. Going by the blurb that acompanies the email (if it is genuine) it was received in Ukraine and leaked to cuberberkut rather than hacked.
The crap dossier when I saw it reminded me of the crap that came out of Ukraine around and after MH17 which the US department of state used as their social media evidence. Much of it seemed to have been placed on social media by the likes of the interior minister and other Ukraine "security services".
Steel given the task of digging up dirt on trump in Russia but cannot enter Russia. A likely place to get sources with contacts through to Russia would be Ukraine.
If Steel actually wrote what is in the dossier then it most likely whatever his source in Ukraine handed him.
So the source has to cook up some technical evidence for the hearings?

That the email is up at cyberberkut makes me think it is genuine, but redacting the names in the email, supposedly to protect the source is odd.

I think that the concept of a "major conspiracy" involving major players is undermined by the quality of the dossier ... god knows I may be wrong, but I did say the same thing wrt to the alleged Russian conspiracy wrt the DNC e-mails ... couldn't they have found something better, more damaging than Debbie Wasserman and Jon Podesta being assholes?

I get that it's the stink, not the substance, but then why the hell did Clinton make such an unholy fuss about Russians and the hacking ... if not because she thought it was going to slame-dunk Trump at some point ... in fact, only true-believer Clinton supporters cared, much less took up her banner ... Trump supporters didn't believe her and didn't care ... True, negligible importance of the e-mail contents (speech to Goldman Sachs -- did anyone bother read it or feign surprise at what she said?)
and, worse, the hacking was grade-school (or middle school) level .. no "Doctor evil" skilz required.

If this was a well-financed operation, there should be videos and photos (even if frauds) ... at least some first-level verification should be possible (even if it fell apart thereafter) ...
YMMV.

@From The Hague, ah, yes. You are right. I guess CNN did not like the competition.

Never lost friends, nor family over politics till the Obama presidency. And I voted for him. Thought he would clean up the banks and investment houses, and stop the wars. I was so naive.

And as far as law and order and race relations, complete disaster. Not sure we will ever recover. Guess "their" solution (Hillary's) was a draft and even more war. Bury the problems. Can only hope Trumps derails their plans.

Indeed our new Ukrainian friends have been fabricating all sorts of dodgy crap sincece they took power, mostly incredibly amateur, without even considering the 'Dossier'.

So the source has to cook up some technical evidence for the hearings?

Had overlooked that, rushed, no one 'aware' available to discuss with ...

Hm,just as likely. If that were the case then {unknown3} would be a known Ukrainian technical services Head and if that was the case then {unknown1} achieves high probability of being ... McCain and {unknown2} his perpetual sidekick, Graham.

If legit, completely unknown, that would be en excellent fit for the nature/structure and internal context of the message. Hm , yes indeed. That would also be reinforced, more plausible, because of the urgency given the time limitation. If McCain &/or Graham visit Ukieland with a fellow traveler before the SSCI Hearings, that would be a prime indicator.

The supposed validity is entirely indeterminate ... a motivated teenager with a good imagination could have crafted it to out4chan 4chan's supposed epic internet trolling. Without further details that can be corroborated it's an absolute unknown, admiralty rating, F/F!

I'll take a stab at it. Firstwise, it is my practice, rigidly enforced currently, to NOT listen to or read or watch anything of a political nature that news outlets per se try to indoctrinate me with these days. I take what I can get vis-a-vis entertainment, bearing in mind that they're 'out to getcha' there as well - but as long as I regard it as fiction, my guard is up, critical perceptions fully functioning. This is not real.

I very much appreciate the comments that come in here based on links to some of the above. b's analyses are extremely informative, in particular because he is looking at events here in the US from the outside. That really helps. And I, unlike others, have time on my hands - this is like doing a college course (without the expense.) Were I a working citizen I don't think I could make any sense whatsoever of what is happening.

What it is, is exactly as you have framed it. It is the creation of reality we saw GWBush attempt to do, more ruthlessly and efficiently practised by his successor. It's doing or saying the same false thing over and over and over, but doing or saying it as one of us loveable people. There has to be a name for this that's better than 'troll' because I think of a troll as somebody who simply wants to obstruct. This new entity not only obstructs but charms, seduces, entices the mind, creates uncertainties, sounds like they know, they really know. Looks like a normal person having the same ordinary and likeable folksy ways. (If you prick me, do I not bleed?) Is fundamentally likeable.

How I have protected myself from this is to say inwardly and absolutely "This guy murders people." But also, since I realized how dangerous he is, I will never let myself listen to any of his words ever again. Period. Because I don't trust myself. My own sense of fairness will betray me. I will think: nobody could sound that good and be that evil. But that's totally wrong. They can. They are.